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The Churrobots, the Hope Horizon robotics team from East Palo Alto, were part of the winning alliance at the Silicon Valley Regional FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) on March 3 and, despite many obstacles, managed to qualify for the championship World Cup in Houston; However, they need to raise 40 thousand dollars for their trip.
Obstacles such as bumper problems, the main student driving the robot being sick, and a lower ranking that did not reflect their actual performance were not enough to stop them and the Churrobots managed to remain competitive.
Having qualified for the world championship for the first time, the Churrobots need to raise $40,000 for their trip to Houston from April 17 to 20.
Ángel Fernández, head of the electricity sub-team, is delighted with this opportunity. “When I first joined this team, I wasn't very sure. They threw me into the wiring on my first day and I was intimidated to dive right in, but then it was cool to see how it all worked,” he said.
“I certainly never imagined going to the Worlds.”
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The Churrobots are a community team based in East Palo Alto that draws students from more than 10 different schools, since there is no full high school in East Palo Alto.
The vast majority of students will be first-generation college students, and many alumni have already gone on to study engineering fields at schools such as the University of Michigan, Harvey Mudd and UC Davis.
The team started in 2019 with two students very motivated to continue their experience after graduating into the FIRST Lego League team. The Churrobots use one of their trainers' garage as a workshop where they design and build an industrial-sized semi-autonomous robot over six weeks.
Greg Corsetto, the head coach, believes the world championships will be an important milestone in the students' lives.
“I think the whole experience there will mean a lot to them and will really encourage them in their professional careers or in their future goals beyond the institute,” Corsetto stressed.
“This year, we have attempted our most complex robot yet, in terms of functionality and on-field scoring abilities. “Have the students really been able to raise their level and follow the entire process, from design to construction, through testing and problem solving,” he said, acknowledging significant growth of the team in recent years.
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The team is made up of students and adult mentors and also has strong family support.
“Not only are families helping their students juggle schoolwork and robotics, but families have been involved in supporting the team by providing meals and planning celebrations. "This effort has helped distribute the workload that coaches normally assume and families have assumed a greater role in the team," Corsetto pointed out.
In the FRC competition, teams are seeded following a round-robin format, and then teams form alliances of three to compete in the playoffs. During the Silicon Valley Regional, the Churrobots (Team 8048) joined Alliance Number 1 led by the Blazing Bulldogs from San José High School (Team 581) and Citrus Circuits from Davis, CA (Team 1678).
The Churrobots need support, and supporters can visit the site to help: https://hopehorizonepa.kindful.com/?campaign=1292995 to achieve his dream of competing in Houston and bringing the cup home.
Hope Horizon is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and all donations are tax deductible. You can also follow Churrobots on their Instagram page @churrobots.8048.
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